Hygromycin-resistant transgenic plants

Abstract

The present invention is directed to hygromycin-resistant transgenic plants and methods for producing such plants. The transgenic plants of the invention comprise gene constructs which encode and express hygromycin phosphotransferase or functional portion thereof.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A dicotyledenous transgenic plant comprising a chimeric gene which comprises: 
       (a) a plant-expressible promoter; and  
       (b) a coding sequence of an aphIV gene encoding a functional portion of a hygromycin phosphotransferase enzyme, which coding sequence is positioned 3′ of said promoter as to be expressible,  
       wherein expression of said sequence confers hygromycin resistance to said transgenic plant or cells thereof.  
     
     
       2. The transgenic plant of  claim 1 , wherein, in the 3′ direction from the promoter, and before the 5′ end of the coding sequence there is an amino terminal region-encoding sequence, which amino terminal region-encoding sequence is under transcriptional control of said promoter when the promoter is naturally occurring. 
     
     
       3. The transgenic plant of  claim 1 , wherein the promoter is from an octopine synthetase gene. 
     
     
       4. The transgenic plant of  claim 2 , wherein the amino terminal region-encoding sequence is from an octopine synthetase gene. 
     
     
       5. The transgenic plant of of  claim 1 , wherein said chimeric gene additionally comprises a terminator signal sequence. 
     
     
       6. The transgenic plant of  claim 1 , wherein said terminator signal sequence is from a nopaline synthetase gene. 
     
     
       7. A plant part from the transgenic plant of any one of claims  1 - 6 . 
     
     
       8. Seed from the transgenic plant of any one of claims  1 - 6 . 
     
     
       9. A method for producing a dicotyledenous transgenic plant, comprising regenerating said plant from a hygromycin resistant dicotyledenous transgenic plant cell, which transgenic plant cell comprises 
       (a) a plant-expressible promoter; and  
       (b) a coding sequence of an aphIV gene encoding a functional portion of a hygromycin phosphotransferase enzyme, which coding sequence is positioned 3′ of said promoter as to be expressible,  
       wherein expression of said sequence confers hygromycin resistance to said transgenic plant cell.  
     
     
       10. The method according to  claim 9 , wherein, in the 3′ direction from the promoter, and before the 5′ end of the coding sequence there is an amino terminal region-encoding sequence, which amino terminal region-encoding sequence is under transcriptional control of said promoter when the promoter is naturally occurring. 
     
     
       11. The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the promoter is from an octopine synthetase gene. 
     
     
       12. The method according to  claim 10 , wherein the amino terminal region-encoding sequence is from an octopine synthetase gene. 
     
     
       13. The method according to  claim 9 , wherein said chimeric gene additionally comprises a terminator signal sequence. 
     
     
       14. The method according to  claim 9 , wherein said terminator signal sequence is from a nopaline synthetase gene.